#1
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Office's hyphenation parameters in docx format
Hello,
Various websites say that the .doc format has an option to set a hyphenation zone, where hyphenation won't be applied if the text ends close enough to the right-hand margin. However, this isn't available in .docx format. So, what parameters does Word use to decide whether to hyphenate a word in .docx files? Thanks in advance, Jeremy |
#2
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I'm not exactly sure. The only info I could find on Microsoft's web site is for prior versions of Word from what I have (365).
On other training sites, I've seen it mentioned that they automatically break at the syllables, or "grammatically correct places" (Ionos). I've always thought that some breaks at the syllable just don't read well like pleas-ure. Then again, we really don't use auto hyphenation in our typical documents at my office, so I'm not dealing with it a lot. But, if you want to use hyphenation zones, you could save your document in the .doc format, even with 365, and the zones area will be accessible. |
#3
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The hyphenation zone setting is not supported in the *.docx format. Recent versions of Word use a different mechanism for managing hyphenated text. This may have been implemented in Word 2013 (a version in which several "layout" changes were made).
__________________
Stefan Blom Microsoft Word MVP Microsoft 365 apps for business Windows 11 Professional |
#4
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An interesting MS article at link below. You still can find the Hyphenation tool using Word's search tool. and use the "?" to get to the article.
In the special character set references an "Optional Hyphen" With the move toward more digital documents, the use of fixed width pages disappears and the application of hyphenation to break a word at line end becomes more complicated. Hyphenation is more of a layout tool than a document-content tool. Keep text together - Microsoft Support |
#5
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Thank you for the replies. DOC format is not compatible with the template we use. I guess it's now just a fixed distance from the margin like 1cm, which I saw mentioned on a typography website.
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#6
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Quote:
In most cases, for new documents there is no good reason to use the older *.doc format, either.
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Stefan Blom Microsoft Word MVP Microsoft 365 apps for business Windows 11 Professional |
#7
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I'm not sure what you mean by shouldn't be needed. Of course it isn't needed simply because it isn't an option now. But there's also no automatic way to control number of hyphens vs how ragged the edge is, that I can tell.
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#8
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Quote:
From Microsoft's perspective, the hyphenation zone option is obsolete, because the new hyphenation "engine" doesn't need it. That is what I mean. Hyphenation is supposed to be generally "better" in the *.docx format. Exactly what has changed (and exactly what "better" would mean) is not documented anywhere, as far as I know. Like all commercial businesses, Microsoft does not give away all the details. In the past, people made use of compatibility options for WordPerfect to improve the layout with justified text, for example. These are now only available for *.doc files. While justified text isn't the same as hyphenated text, we often use one with the other.
__________________
Stefan Blom Microsoft Word MVP Microsoft 365 apps for business Windows 11 Professional |
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